Tag: curry

Sindhi fote bhugi khichdi with fusion potato sabji.

main meal

Sometimes the simplest of food can bring such comfort. For me, my comfort soul food is sindhi fote bhugi khichdi, accompanied by a potato sabji, crispy brinjal or karela and a piece of fried fish. Being a Sindhi, I have grown up  eating delicious simple food cooked by my mom. Sindhi food is really simple and easy to put together.
When I got married,  every sunday our food was FOTE BHUGI KHICHDI( khichdi cooked with cardamom)  methi patata, dahi and fryums.. it was  the family sunday meal. Over time I changed the methi aloo to a fusion aloo sabji( aka malaysian and Bengali fusion).  Now its  cooked twice a month😊But its a meal I look forward to . Please do try this combination.

2 cups rice
1/2 cup split green moong dal( with skin)
2 tsps freshly ground elaichi powder
2 tsps shah jeeri
2 tsps salt
2 to 3 tbsps oil

Mix the dal and rice , wash well and soak for an hour.
Drain out the water.
Heat a pan, add oil, jeeri and elaichi powder . Once fragrant, add the rice and dal mix.  Saute for few mins, Add salt and enough water to cook the khichdi. We want each grain seperate. Not a mushy khichdi.
Done.
Ps…I cook the khichdi with enough water to cover, once water dries up I shift the rice to a steamer. And steam cook for 20 mins.

Aloo sabji
3 boiled, peeled and cubed potatoes.
1 small  onion sliced
1 small onion chopped finely
2 medium tomatoes..finely chopped
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic.
1/2 tbsp paanch phoran( mix mustard seeds, cumin seeds, methi seeds, onion seeds, saunf).
1 sprigs..about 10 curry leaves.
2 heaped tsps curry powder( I used malaysian baba brand)
2 tsps red chillie powder.
Salt to taste
Corriander ..finely chopped.

Heat 2 to 3 tbsps mustard oil in a pan, add panch phoran, followed by curry leaves.
Now add minced garlic and ginger., saute. Add the diced onions and saute till onions become translucent.
Add chopped tomatoes, curry powder, salt, red chillie powder  and mix well. Add the cubed potatoes and sliced onion. Mix and finally add corriander leaves. Done.

For the fish, I took one boneless fillet of  snapper.  Marinated in turmeric and salt, gave a lime rub and shallow fried in oil.

Remove and sprinkle generously with red chillie powder, corriander seed powder, amchoor.
This is a typlcal Sindhi  sprinkle mix for fried fish or  fried arbi.

SINDHI PHOTE BHUGO CHICKEN / CARDAMOM CHICKEN.

main meal

SINDHI PHOTE BHUGO CHICKEN.

Today’s recipe is SINDHI PHOTE BHUGO CHICKEN, cardamon/Elaichi chicken.
After someone asked me for an authentic sindhi recipe for phote bhuga TEEVARN( mutton), I went straight to the source of my sindhi recipes, MY MOTHER. While I was on a short trip to India. Sadly Mom’s health has detoriated as well as her memory. But she immediately could recall this recipe, and told me. In fact I asked her if we could add tomatoes, she said not at all.😊 so this recipe is more like a stew with a strong cardamon flavour and peppery undertones.A very light on the tummy dish.

Memories of my mom making this super fragrant dish( phote bugo teevarn) on sundays for my grandparents are so clear. My mom is a masterchef of sindhi delicacies, but sadly cannot cook any longer at the grand age of 90. But I am so thankful to have learnt most of my sindhi cooking from her.

Pls try it and have this accompanied by parathas and tawa toasted bread. The simplicity of this dish is what makes it so special.
The last time I made it was years ago for my mother in law , but with mushrooms. ( vegetarians please note).

500 gms chicken with bone( 6 good size pieces) make slashes on the chicken.
2 tsps of freshly ground cardamon with skin
4 to 5 whole cardamons..lightly bashed.
2 tsps freshly ground black pepper.
1 tsp shah jeera
1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
1/4 tsp garam masala
1.5 tsps salt.
3 cups water.
Finely cut corriander leaves with stems.
3 tbsps oil
2 tbsps Wheat flour mixed with 1/2 cup cold water.
( DO NOT USE CORNFLOUR).
Heat oil in a pressure cooker, and add the shah jeera, whole cardamons and the powdered cardamom. After a few seconds add the chicken and start sauting for at least 10 mins. The cardamom will start sticking to the chicken, keep going. Now add the corriander leaves, black pepper powder, turmeric and salt, mix for another 5 mins. The combined flavours of corriander, pepper and cardamom are amazing. Add the water and close lid. After 3 whistles, shut the flame and let the cooker cool down.
Open the lid and bring the chicken to a boil. Add the wheat flour slurry and simmer for a few more minutes.
Serve hot, sprinkled with black pepper and corriander.
Serve with parathas, and tawa toasted bread.or pao.

Ayam Rendang

main meal

Ayam Rendang..
Rendang, which means slow cooked food, mostly beef which is cooked for hours on a very slow fire., but chicken or even jackfruit cooked on a slow fire tastes as good, this recipe is from the   the west Sumetra regions of  Indonesia. The food from these regions is normally known as Padang food, made by the minangkabao people.
Padang restaurants are popular all over the country.
They do not offer you a menu to choose from, once you are seated, a waiter will bring out   dozens of small dishes filled with various dishes. Customers take only what they want from this array, and they pay only for what they take. Usually the plates can be  about 10 to 12 varieties of food. Curries, barbequed meats, greens etc.
This food is normally eaten with hands.
And steamed rice is served.

This was a dish I fell in love with when I moved to Indonesia 37 years ago, the taste was fabulous and a little familiar to my Indian taste buds😊

My husband would get this chicken from a popular padang restaurant called sari bundo, and we would really enjoy this on many sundays.

Do try this home made version .

Indonesian chicken curry

8 pcs of chicken.( I use thigh pcs with bone)
Make cuts on the chicken to soak up the gravy.
I potato cut into 8 pcs
2 pandan leaves tied in a knot
1/2 cup fresh coconut grated, and sauted till semi dry.
Coconut milk( I used tetra pack) 200 ml
1 stalk of lemongrass( bottom white part only, bashed)
2 fresh bay leaves
5 cloves
1 pc of cinnamon
2 tbsps tamarind paste.
( I normally soak about half kg tamarind in some hot water, squeeze and strain the paste, pour into ice cube moulds. Store in the freezer and use as required, here I used 2 cubes)
1 tbsp of jaggery.

To be ground into a paste
10 shallots
5 garlic pods
1 inch pc of ginger
5 fresh red chillies
5 dry red kashmiri chillies
6 pcs of candlenuts or cashews
1 tsp white peppercorns
1 tsp corriander seeds
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg.

Heat abt half cup oil in a pan, and add bay leaves, lemon grass, cinnamon , cloves, pandan leaves and saute till herbs and spices release thier fragrance.
Add grated coconut and ground paste.
Saute till oil is seen on the sides. Add tamarind, jaggery and salt.
Also add the chicken and potato pcs.
Saute for 10 mins, add few tbsps of water and saute again. Repeat process about 5 times.
Finally add coconut milk and some water.
Stir, cover and cook for about 20 mins till oil floats on top, and a very thick gravy is left.
This rendang is always slow cooked and tastes fabulous with white rice or layered parathas.

You can even cook till no gravy is left, and then grill the chicken to get Ayam bakar rendang.
Enjoy.

Roti jala/ lacy crepes with chicken curry

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Roti jala or lacy crepes as they are called have Malaysian origins, normally served with a curry, these crepes are relished at weddings, gatherings and are even sold as a street food. These pretty looking crepes are usually made from a batter of flour, eggs and coconut milk. The batter is drizzled over a hot pan in a pretty lace like pattern. The crepes cook very fast, in under a minute.

Having lived in south east asia for the last 34 years, my cooking has definetely imbibed the asean flavours. I love to mix and match flavours often resulting in fusion cusine. Take for instance curry powder, available all over the world, but my favourite one comes from malaysia. Well all said and done, my family relishes my food and does not complain, so it encourages me to experiment more.

Today the recipe I will share with you is an eggless version of roti jala with an addition of rice flour, I found this gives a better texture to the crepe as well as making it crispier.

I will also share a recipe for chicken curry, which is a fusion curry, using indian spices as well as malaysian curry powder. This type of cooking gives the curry a familiar taste for indian palete. The use of coconut milk and whole spices like corriander seeds, cumin seeds and cinnamon is common to south Indian and south east asian cooking, especially malaysia, singapore and Indonesia.

Do try this meal at home. Easy to make and even prettier to look at.

Roti jala/ lacy crepes

Ingredients

75 gms flour

25 gms rice flour

1/ 2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp salt

100 ml coconut milk( I used the ready to use tetra pack)

150 ml water

Coconut oil to brush the pan

Method

Mix all the dry ingredients together, and slowly add water and coconut milk to make a smooth batter. Let the batter rest for 15 mins.

Strain the batter into the jala mould.

Now heat a nonstick pan with oil abd slowly drizzle a little of the batter onto it , forming a pretty lacy pattern.

Now let it cook for a minute, do not flip it over, fold it inwards from 2 sides

Next, roll it neatly and remove onto a serving platter

Proceed to make the remaining crepes, you dont need to keep brushing the pan. The yield from this recipe should be 10 to 12 roti jalas.

Chicken curry/ vegetable /paneer/tofu curry

Ingredients

400 gms boneless chicken thigh cubed or boiled mix vegetables/ tofu/paneer

1 big onion ..finely chopped

1 big tomato…thinly sliced

1 tbsp garlic..finely chopped

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 tbsps curry powder( I use malaysian baba brand )

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

6 cloves..pierced into a shallot( for easy removal)

1 stick cinnamon

1 tbsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste.

100 ml coconut milk

2 tbsps coconut oil

Method

Heat oil in a pan, and add fennel, cumin seeds, cinnamon and cloves. Saute till fragrant, now add ginger, garlic and chopped onions.

When the onions become limp abd light golden, add the tomatoes, curry powder, red chili powder and salt..mix well

At this point add chicken, cover and cook till tender.

Vegetarians can add boiled vegetables, tofu or paneer.

Next, add half a cup of water and the coconut milk, simmer upto 10 mins. Garnish with fried onions and corriander leaves.

To serve, take crepe and pour some curry on the top.

Enjoy.

# roti jala moulds are available online in most countries

Try amazon or tokopedia.